


For I Love You

by orphan_account



Category: Cinderella 2015
Genre: F/M, Lavenders Blue, Love, Song - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-16
Updated: 2015-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-30 20:38:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3950938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had been prepared to relinquish her grasp on the night at the ball, the precious moments and heart throbbing minutes, to give it up as a reality and accept it as only a golden dream like the ones of her father and mother when she was happy and full of joy. In the days she spent in the cold and drafty attic Ella had struggled to do so, to let Kit - her Kit, her kind apprentice monarch - fade into a cherished memory.</p>
            </blockquote>





	For I Love You

She had been prepared to relinquish her grasp on the night at the ball, the precious moments and heart throbbing minutes, to give it up as a reality and accept it as only a golden dream like the ones of her father and mother when she was happy and full of joy. In the days she spent in the cold and drafty attic Ella had struggled to do so, to let Kit - her Kit, her kind apprentice monarch - fade into a cherished memory (it was too good to be a dream, she had decided, dreams end). The sweet young girl had known that she would always remember the way she had danced as a princess with a prince, the feel of his hand about her slim waist and how perfectly beautiful the magic had been while it had lasted. However, she had been warned that magic would only last so long and had continued on knowing full well that after that night nothing would return to what it was before. Then again, at that point she had though Kit a well mannered apprentice with an eye catching smile.

Ella always sung to herself. It was a things she always did, to distance herself from the cruelty and misery of her surroundings - knowing deep down that the world was much different from what she was experiencing. Not always the songs her mother taught her, more often a babble of rhyming words passing her lips than the quaint folk songs that were once so heavily a part of her life. This time, however, she had slowly begun to hum and then to sing in a fairy like melody of her late mothers traditional lullaby, leaning against the slight alcove that sheltered the deep set window. 

Lavenders blue, dilly dilly, lavenders green

The thunder of horses hooves outside met Ella's ears, but she didn't care, for surely no one had any intention of seeing her. A few, old family friends may have known her father well enough to check on her from time to time - but fewer dwindled to none as Lady Tremaine's nature was known and Ella was more severely separated from the outside world than she had ever been, until she met a handsome young apprentice in the woods.

When I am King, dilly dilly, you shall be Queen

Downstairs there was a frightful commotion, with both sisters insistent on fitting the glass slipper (Queenship and an advantageous state of matrimony now within their grasps), but Ella heard it not. The attic was truly far away from their fuss and bother, though if Ella had thought of it at that moment she would have wept bitterly. She had been letting tears fall like raindrops in the approaching autumn amongst the days, and now was in a peaceful, if despondent, mood. 

Who told you so, dilly dilly, who told you so?

Ella permitted herself to think of what might of been, of the royal declaration the King had issued as soon as the respectful time for mourning for the late sovereign was passed. How achingly sorry she felt for him, recalling keenly the loss of her parents. Now they were both two of a kind, she mused. Did he think to marry her, when they talked until midnight in the starlight gardens? Had he thought her worthy of a kingdoms love? No, he would never have. Ella was worth so little, to everyone it seemed. Of course, she did not know anything of the effort the King had invested into finding her, and so her thoughts were despairing, if not entirely cynical. She did not feel fond of this new manner of thought, but what else was she to think?

T'was my own heart, dilly dilly, that told me so

Ella knew she loved him. True, never had she felt this way before - but never had she known cruelty parallel to her stepmothers and she needed no confirmation to know it was, indeed, cruelty. If all people were born with equal capabilities to love and be loved, to know such goodness and joy existed in the world without needing to see it, than how could one commit such acts of jealousy and coldhearted mistreatment? Ella would never come to understand the answer to that puzzling question, bright as she was. She would never cease to love him, and she had known it from the second she discovered her feelings - but she owed it to her beloved, to the kingdom, to protect anyone she could from the influence of her twisted stepmother. 

Lavenders blue, dilly dilly, lavenders green

The Grand Duke and Captain of the Gaurd were departing, to the great sadness of two young ladies, just as the mice began to play with latch on the window, though Ella knew it not. All she saw were three little friends attempting to open the window, and she considered helping them - before dismissing the idea. Last she had checked the window's hinges had rusted and sealed shut, before a certain Fairy Godmother had coincidently and secretly cleaned it up a bit on the night of the ball. There was no point in trying to open the window, as there was no point in singing softly to herself. 

If you love me, dilly dilly, I will love you

Would he have brought her happiness? Ella tried to pretend for a heart turning breath that he would not have, that perhaps it was best for her to remain locked up in the attic barred from ever seeing him again. She knew she was being stupid, yes, that Kit - her Kit, though how unobtainable he now was - would have brought her the greatest felicity life had to offer, that contentment could not fully justify the sanctuary she would have found in his embrace. He had strong arms, arms she could not help believe were meant to hold her, as she had noted when they danced about the great room. Mayhap's those arms could have protected her from all the strife and struggles life would offer her. She did wish most ardently that those strong arms would not go to waste, that he would find himself a good and kind wife to wrap them around, even if she could not be that wife - he was the King, after all, and for the security of the people he would be required to marry and produce and heir. Ella knew Kit well enough to say confidently that he was too selfless to ignore his obligations to the land. Vaguely she wondered if he would come to love the Princess Chelina of Zaragosa, if he was unable to find a wretched serving girl hidden away in a dusty attic, and she saw Gus Gus successfully aid his family in opening the window, though that did not interrupt her musings or her singing. 

Let the birds sing, dilly dilly, let the lambs play

Below faint gasps were provided when a guardsmen revealed himself to be His Majesty himself, come to ensure the authenticity of the search for the Mystery Maiden. Expressing a wish to tarry a little, the King retired within the Manse - the Captain determined to investigate the girl who belonged to the miraculous singing voice and prove that it was, in the end, not a particularly talented cat. The Captain felt immense pressure on his shoulders as he politely followed the relatively enraged mistress of the house up the many flights of stairs, his heavy boots weighing him down even more. If this was not the girl, then they had lost her and His Majesty would not know the beauties of fully expressed and true love. If this was not the girl, than Kit would be ensnared within the Grand Duke's schemes. The Captain had reluctantly sworn secrecy concerning the plots and intrigues his not so noble colleague had arranged surrounding the hidden agreement between the Grand Duke and the Kingdom of Zaragosa - and felt sick to the stomach at the idea that the slippery man might actually triumph. 

We shall be safe, dilly dilly, out of harms way

The door creaked open menacingly, and stunned Ella fumbled to stand away from the window at the unexpected appearance of her step mother. Behind her, Ella recognised the Captain of the Gaurd - the man who had called Kit back to the hunt when first they met beneath the boughs of the trees. She stumbled to force the words out, what might she indeed say? Anxiety washed over her as she feared what might be the reasoning behind the dignitaries calling at the Manse, imagining what atrocities she might face at the hands of an ally of the Lady Tremaine. Yet he seemed true and honest when first she saw his face, and his brightened noticeably at the sight of her, hardly the expression of a cruel man. 

Lavenders blue, dilly dilly, lavenders green

Who was she, truly? The question came to Ella as she paused before a mirror in the hall, frightened by the drastic change in appearance since last she saw her reflection - the palace had been littered with reflective materials and being uninformed as to what she looked like, Ella had stolen a quick glance at the princess that had stood in front of her then. There was a stark change, from her attire to her hair to the dark circles beneath her eyes that had magically disappeared at the hands of her kind and impeccably well dressed Godmother. She was Cinderella, she affirmed without a moments thought. Yes, she was Ella, the daughter of a landed merchant and loving and noble lady with a fairy guardian who favoured alternative materials when it came to shoe making, but she was also the abused and malnourished servant of the Lady Tremaine, taunted by her stepsisters and despised by her stepmother. The Captain had spoken of Kit, and Kit needed to see who she truly was. She was Ella and Cinderella and the Mystery Princess (or whatever name her two sisters had invented concerning the enigmatic gentle lady that had stolen the former prince's heart). With a nervous inhale of breath she met the Grand Duke in the foyer, earning a scrutinising glare from him, and prepared herself to reveal her identity to the man she loved with all her heart.

You must love me, dilly dilly, for I love you

Ignoring propriety and all it's social constrictions, Kit had seated himself beside Ella as the carriage made it's way to the palace, a warm sensation spreading through his chest at the feeling of his future wife leaning into him. Anger had seethed within him when the Grand Duke and Lady Tremaine's knowing glances and exchanged smiles were explained, but it had all been calmed when Ella had made her way across the sitting room to confess her name, and position. Not that he cared, particularly. It was a struggle, naturally, to love someone without a name and Kit ought to have marvelled at how completely and utterly he had fallen for a girl he knew so little about. There was a lot left to be explained, why she had run off - incapable of remaining a minute longer to murmur a name in possession of two syllable (he would never, or let anyone else, call her Cinderella). But they had the rest of their lives to unravel the magic that had surrounded the pair of them from the moment they were born, and just now Kit thought on nothing other than how uncomfortably cold his companion may have grown. Kindly (and admittedly with more than a small amount of enthusiasm) the King wrapped his arms about the love of his life, knowing she would remain their until their lives had ended. Gratefully, Ella leaned closer into his body, looking up to catch his expression and becoming distracted by his eyes, just as he immediately became enraptured by her own.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm sorry I used the first lines as a summary but I'm terrible at them!!! Please comment if you liked it, maybe give a few tips? Hope you enjoyed!


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